X99 MAX + cannot boot CE from SD or USB

Help & Support Installation & Booting
6

I have the same box and the same problem. Is there any way to boot with 4g/1gbit dtb? Thanks…

7

It’s likely the box has fake ram, so it only has 2GB of RAM.

8

How do I know it’s a fake ram? HW Info shows that the box has 4GB.

Screenshot_20200520-182318
Screenshot_20200520-1823181920×1080 149 KB

9

You wouldn’t be the first nor the last to get a box with fake ram…
Hw Info shows what operating system reports, and operating system can report anything a manufacturer/vendor puts in it.
A secure method is to read markings on memory chips, but that is also sometimes not possible, because it’s easy to erase/remove markings on the chips which some manufacturers do…

10

Thank you for answer. So is it ok to use sm1_s905x3_odroid_c4.dtb instead of sm1_s905x3_4g_1gbit.dtb for this box?

11

It’s OK if it works. Whichever works is OK. On one of my boxes I can use 3 different .dtb images with various results, but they all work.
Using a .dtb that does not work cannot brake anything, so you should not be afraid of braking something. The box will either boot and work, or it will not boot at all.

12

I made some configs for this box:
vfd_x99max-plus(x88pro-x3)-NEW.conf (1.2 KB) X99MAX_plus_remote (555 Bytes)

I’ve already opened it:

IMG_20200521_094412
IMG_20200521_0944121728×2304 1.22 MB

and it seems to be clone of X88PRO which problems are similar.
Example in this topic
X88 PRO X3, Choose DTB and Install to EMMC

1 Like
13

From the experience of another forum, it seems that CoreElec detects the correct amount of RAM in the 4/64 box.
With the 4/32 box, CE cannot correctly detect RAM and only works with dtb for 2GB ram.
It’s the same as the X88 box. :confused:

14

And are you completely sure that it’s not a 2gb ram? As Sholander mentioned that’s pretty common, having fake ram that in android shoes as 4gb and there’s only 2gb in reality.

15

Is it possible to find out from these photos?

20200521_155750
20200521_1557501080×2336 702 KB
20200521_162752
20200521_1627521080×2340 1 MB
20200521_163008
20200521_1630081080×2336 1.62 MB
20200521_163023
20200521_1630231080×2336 1.85 MB

16

K4B2G0446D: 2G bit DDR3 SDRAM * 8 modules ? = 2 GB ram ?

17

agree it’s only 2GByte DRAM.
K4B2G0446D-HYH9 is 2Gbit IC => 256MB per IC. Assuming you have 4 ICs on topside and another 4 ICs on bottomside, this results in 2GByte total memory.
BTW: the DRAMs are refurbished/reballed ICs from ~2012, that’s one of the reasons why they can offer such boxes that cheap (besides cheating with 4GB)

2 Likes
18

I examined the X99 max+ box and ram datasheet in even more detail, and according to him, it looks like it’s really 4GB.

obrazek
obrazek909×81 5.13 KB

The box contains an 8x memory module K4B2G0446D-HYH9, which should be 8 x 512MB, a total of 4GB. So why does CE dtb only work for 2GB?

19

You misses that organization is x4 bit not x8 bit. That’s why it is only 2GB in total with 8 modules.

20

So organization 512Mx4 doesn’t mean four 512MB modules? I apologize for the stupid question, but I’m not an expert on ram modules …

21

No, the IC has 2Gbit of memory, which is 256MByte.
organisation means the number of data lanes per adress.

  • 512M adresses with 4bit data output (512M x 4bit =2048Mbit)
  • 256M adresses with 8bit data output (256M x 8bit =2048Mbit)
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22

You mean 2Gbit of memory, which is 256MByte.

23

Yes,typo, thanks for the hint.
As stated in my post before, 2Gbit IC is 256MB, with 8 ICs mounted this will give 2GByte of RAM.

24

Thank you for the explanation :+1:

1 Like
25

I have an X88 4g 128gb same chips same behavior, detects only 2gb. Chinese bastards, that box was months in storage trying to find the solution, the seller just ignores my messages, so maybe is to late to calim refund on ebay. its almost one year old